iGEM Uppsala
Every team needs a partner to discuss ideas with and get inspiration from. We were lucky enough to have iGEM Uppsala as our partner throughout our whole project. This means we have managed to organize some events together, but have also continuously been in contact with each other to discuss ideas and possibilities. The constant feedback and help has enabled us to organize and attend some cool events and has given us more opportunities for defining our project!
BBQ Brainstorm Event
The Stockholm and Uppsala iGEM team have always had a strong collaboration. This year we did not think of anything less. We co-organized a BBQ in Uppsala where our two teams got to know each other and the projects we're working on this year. This was the beginning of a more longstanding and meaningful partnership. After this meetup we started brainstorming on a number of possible collaborations in order to make sure to make the best of both projects.
Figure 1: To finish up the evening, the teams mixed into smaller groups to play the traditional Swedish game Kubb.
Drivhuset Pitching Workshop
The first big event set up in collaboration with Uppsala was the pitch workshop with Drivhuset Norden. Drivhuset helps startups by teaching them how to present themselves in a meaningful way. Our team went to Uppsala, where we started the afternoon with a lab tour in small groups. Here, the Uppsala team told us more about the techniques they are using to make their project a success. After the tour, we started with the workshop. Erik Tosterud from Drivhuset gave us a lot of tips, then time to prepare an elevator pitch about our project. We pitched for the other team and gave each other constructive feedback. The workshop helped us prepare for both NiC and the Giant Jamboree, by helping us recognise the unique value proposition of our project.
Figure 2: Eric Tosterud gave some great tips on pitching!
Ethics Workshop
Synthetics is a non-profit, student driven organisation focusing on the importance of ethics in synthetic biology. Both the Uppsala and our team were highly interested in learning more about ethics and how to apply ethics on our particular projects. We contacted Erik Hartman and Blanka Novak from Synthetics, who were willing to help us by organising a workshop. We started the day off with by showing our lab to the Uppsala team, where we talked about the techniques we used in our experiments and briefly explained them. After the lab tour, we learned more about ethics and its general importance in the field of synthetic biology. Then we got safety-related feedback, specifically focused on our projects. The brainstorm/discussion session helped us shape the rest of our project, by encouraging us to write an ethics workplan.
Figure 3: Erik and Blanka touched on many different aspects of ethics, thus making sure both of our teams gained the most information possible from the workshop and discussion session!